This invention relates to flyer bows. Flyer bows for use on twisting machines are well known in the art. Twisting machines with flyer bows can be used to make twisted cables for a wide variety of uses. Flyer bows can be used with pairing, tripling, quadding, bunching and twisted machines for wires. A typical flyer bow is generally rectangular in cross section. Wires to be twisted pass longitudinally along the inside surface of the flyer bow and are guided along the surface through ceramic or metal wire guides. A groove or recessed channel in the inside surface of the flyer bow is often incorporated into the design of the flyer bow in order to nest the wires to be twisted close to the surface of the flyer bow. This configuration reduces drag on the wires due to wind that sweeps transversely across the flyer bow during use. Flyer bows with airfoil shapes have been successfully used to increase speed of the winding machines with the benefits of minimum power draw and reduced operational noise. However, the airfoil does little, if anything, to minimize the effect of drag on the exposed wires. Furthermore, the exposed wire guides create additional drag on the flyer bow as it rotates.
An existing flyer bow is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,223,513 B1, issued to Post et al. and assigned to Kamatics Corporation, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. U.S. Pat. No. 6,223,513 B1 discloses a flyer bow with an integral enclosed wire guide. This design reduces drag by incorporating the wire guide within the flyer bow.